I, on the other hand, cannot keep my mouth shut.
“Caveman.”
“Nope.” He’s shaking his head as he pulls on his boxer shorts and thankfully leaves his shirt off.
Yep, still love that body of his.
It’s not as defined as it used to be. His edges are a touch softer, but he’s still strong and shapely. Still my sexy man.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” He plunks down on his side of the bed, grabbing a car magazine out of his bag so roughly he rips the cover. “Shit!”
I have to suppress a grin. I’ve always found agitated Carson amusing, but he really hates it when I get the giggles.
Clenching my jaw, I force my lips into line before clearing my throat and softly saying, “But you need to.”
He sighs, opening the magazine with force and flipping through the pages so fast he’s clearly not reading anything. I doubt he’s even seeing the pictures at that pace. “I can’t own a business.”
“Why not?”
“Because!” He throws the magazine up, and it does a few spirals while heading for an inglorious landing on the floor. I can’t see it anymore, but I’m guessing it’s splayed out, its pages all bent and askew.
“Baby.” I soften my voice, resting my hand over his. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay.” He frowns, his eyes finally hitting mine so I can see the stress radiating out of them.
Cupping his cheek, I tip my head and smile at him. “I know the idea of doing this is terrifying. But you want this. And youcansucceed.”
“I have been a loser for most of my life. What makes you think I’m not gonna fuck this up too?”
“Because you scored me.” I smirk. “You’ve kept me. I’m a freaking queen, so… you can’t be all that bad.”
His lips twitch, a barely there smile flashing at me before his mouth flatlines again.
“And you’re a wonderful daddy.”
His eyebrows wrinkle, like he’s not sure he believes it.
“You are. Those girls love you so much, and they have very good reason to.” Taking his hand, I place it over my belly. Histhumb automatically starts to stroke the curve. “And this little guy is so lucky to have you. He’s gonna learn a bunch of cool things from you. Can’t you just see him tottering around in a garage, bike parts and engines neatly stacked along the walls?”
“Kitten,” he practically whimpers, but I don’t let up, painting a vivid picture of the dream I know he desperately wants.
“You deserve this,” I say in a fierce whisper, grabbing his face and forcing him to look at me again. “Your dad wanted this for you.Iwant it for you, and I will do whatever it takes to help you achieve this.”
He gently curls his fingers around my wrist and starts to shake his head.
“Just like you helped me. I never would have been able to run the Boston Marathon without you.”
“This is different.”
“No, it’s not. We’re gonna do this, one step at a time. And we’re gonna do it together.”
His eyebrows pop up. “Together?”
“Yes. I want to run this business with you.”
“But what about your job?”
“I’ll be on maternity leave in six weeks anyway, and then after this little dude is born, I’m all yours. We’ll get the business up and running, and then by the time I’m due back at work, the garage will be generating enough cash that I won’t have to go back.”
